Princeton University was once again named No. 1 in U.S. News‘ Best Colleges ranking
BIGGEST RISER: UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
The biggest leap into the top tier in the overall Best Colleges ranking came from the University of Chicago, which rose five spots to No. 6 from No. 11 last year, re-entering the top 10 and surpassing several Ivy League peers. U.S. News attributed the jump to enhanced performance in outcomes and faculty research. Chicago also ranked No. 1 this year in the Best Colleges for Veterans category.
Other notable risers in the top 25 include:
- University of Pennsylvania, up 3 spots to No. 7
- Dartmouth College, up 2 to No. 13
- UC Berkeley, up 2 to No. 15
Among public institutions, Rutgers-Newark and Clemson University each climbed five spots to No. 75, while Northeastern University made one of the year’s biggest top-tier jumps, rising 8 places to No. 46. Yeshiva University saw the single largest leap among ranked National Universities, jumping 14 spots to No. 84 — fueled by improvements in outcomes and peer assessments.
BIGGEST DECLINES: CALTECH, WAKE FOREST, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
On the opposite end, the most notable drop among top-ranked institutions came from the California Institute of Technology, which fell five spots to No. 11 after years in the top 10. Wake Forest University and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities also dropped five spots to No. 51 and No. 59 respectively.
The steepest fall in the top 100 came from Loyola Marymount University, which fell 11 spots to No. 102. Other sharp declines included North Carolina State, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Brandeis, Tulane, and Fordham, all of which dropped six places.
NOTABLE SHIFTS IN REGIONAL & LIBERAL ARTS RANKINGS
In the National Liberal Arts category, the United States Naval Academy reached a new high at No. 3, while the U.S. Air Force Academy rose from No. 8 to No. 5, benefiting from the heavier weighting on affordability and outcomes. Grinnell College and Middlebury College both jumped six spots to tie at No. 13, driven by graduation performance and financial metrics.
In the South, Murray State University reached an all-time high at No. 14. Virginia State University climbed 15 spots to No. 42, and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez soared 11 positions to No. 37.
In the Midwest, Dakota State University made a 30-spot leap to No. 61, the largest regional gain this year, followed by Bemidji State University, which rose 20 spots to No. 71.
In the West, University of Dallas rejoined the top 10 at No. 9, while New Mexico Tech jumped 15 spots to No. 20.
2026 NATIONAL RANKINGS SNAPSHOT
Best National Universities:
- Princeton University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
Best National Liberal Arts Colleges:
- Williams College
- Amherst College
- United States Naval Academy
Top Public National Universities:
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Most Innovative National Universities:
- Arizona State University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Northeastern University
Top National Universities for Veterans:
- University of Chicago
- Cornell University
- Brown University
- University of California – Berkeley
- University of California – Los Angeles
Top Social Mobility Performers:
- Florida International University (tie)
- University of California – Riverside (tie)
- California State University, Long Beach (tie)
- University of California – Merced (tie)
- Rutgers University – Newark
U.S. NEWS BEST COLLEGES 2026: TOP 100
| Rank | School | State | Previous Rank | Movement |
| #1 | Princeton University | NJ | 1 | – |
| #2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | MA | 2 | – |
| #3 | Harvard University | MA | 3 | – |
| #4 (tied) | Stanford University | CA | 4 | – |
| #4 (tied) | Yale University | CT | 5 | +1 |
| #6 | University of Chicago | IL | 11 | +5 |
| #7 (tied) | Duke University | NC | 6 | -1 |
| #7 (tied) | Johns Hopkins University | MD | 6 | -1 |
| #7 (tied) | Northwestern University | IL | 6 | -1 |
| #7 (tied) | University of Pennsylvania | PA | 10 | +3 |
| #11 | California Institute of Technology | CA | 6 | -5 |
| #12 | Cornell University | NY | 11 | -1 |
| #13 (tied) | Brown University | RI | 13 | – |
| #13 (tied) | Dartmouth College | NH | 15 | +2 |
| #15 (tied) | Columbia University | NY | 13 | -2 |
| #15 (tied) | University of California, Berkeley | CA | 17 | +2 |
| #17 (tied) | Rice University | TX | 18 | +1 |
| #17 (tied) | University of California, Los Angeles | CA | 15 | -2 |
| #17 (tied) | Vanderbilt University | TN | 18 | +1 |
| #20 (tied) | Carnegie Mellon University | PA | 21 | +1 |
| #20 (tied) | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | MI | 21 | +1 |
| #20 (tied) | University of Notre Dame | IN | 18 | -2 |
| #20 (tied) | Washington University in St. Louis | MO | 21 | +1 |
| #24 (tied) | Emory University | GA | 24 | – |
| #24 (tied) | Georgetown University | DC | 24 | – |
| #26 (tied) | University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill | NC | 27 | +1 |
| #26 (tied) | University of Virginia | VA | 24 | -2 |
| #28 | University of Southern California | CA | 27 | -1 |
| #29 | University of California, San Diego | CA | 29 | – |
| #30 (tied) | The University of Texas–Austin | TX | 30 | – |
| #30 (tied) | University of Florida | FL | 30 | – |
| #32 (tied) | Georgia Institute of Technology | GA | 33 | +1 |
| #32 (tied) | New York University | NY | 30 | -2 |
| #32 (tied) | University of California, Davis | CA | 33 | +1 |
| #32 (tied) | University of California, Irvine | CA | 33 | +1 |
| #36 (tied) | Boston College | MA | 37 | +1 |
| #36 (tied) | Tufts University | MA | 37 | +1 |
| #36 (tied) | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | 33 | -3 |
| #36 (tied) | University of Wisconsin–Madison | WI | 39 | +3 |
| #40 | University of California, Santa Barbara | CA | 39 | -1 |
| #41 | The Ohio State University | OH | 41 | – |
| #42 (tied) | Boston University | MA | 41 | -1 |
| #42 (tied) | Rutgers University–New Brunswick | NJ | 41 | -1 |
| #42 (tied) | University of Maryland, College Park | MD | 44 | +2 |
| #42 (tied) | University of Washington | WA | 46 | +4 |
| #46 (tied) | Lehigh University | PA | 46 | – |
| #46 (tied) | Northeastern University | MA | 54 | +8 |
| #46 (tied) | Purdue University–Main Campus | IN | 46 | – |
| #46 (tied) | University of Georgia | GA | 46 | – |
| #46 (tied) | University of Rochester | NY | 44 | -2 |
| #51 (tied) | Case Western Reserve University | OH | 51 | – |
| #51 (tied) | Florida State University | FL | 54 | +3 |
| #51 (tied) | Texas A&M University | TX | 51 | – |
| #51 (tied) | Virginia Tech | VA | 51 | – |
| #51 (tied) | Wake Forest University | NC | 46 | -5 |
| #51 (tied) | William & Mary | VA | 54 | +3 |
| #57 (tied) | University of California, Merced | CA | 58 | +1 |
| #57 (tied) | Villanova University | PA | 58 | +1 |
| #59 (tied) | George Washington University | DC | 63 | +4 |
| #59 (tied) | Santa Clara University | CA | 63 | +4 |
| #59 (tied) | Stony Brook University–SUNY | NY | 58 | -1 |
| #59 (tied) | The Pennsylvania State University–University Park | PA | 63 | +4 |
| #59 (tied) | University of Minnesota–Twin Cities | MN | 54 | -5 |
| #64 (tied) | Michigan State University | MI | 63 | -1 |
| #64 (tied) | North Carolina State University | NC | 58 | -6 |
| #64 (tied) | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | NY | 70 | +6 |
| #64 (tied) | University of Massachusetts–Amherst | MA | 58 | -6 |
| #64 (tied) | University of Miami | FL | 63 | -1 |
| #69 (tied) | Brandeis University | MA | 63 | -6 |
| #69 (tied) | Tulane University of Louisiana | LA | 63 | -6 |
| #69 (tied) | University of Connecticut | CT | 70 | +1 |
| #69 (tied) | University of Pittsburgh | PA | 70 | +1 |
| #73 (tied) | Binghamton University–SUNY | NY | 73 | – |
| #73 (tied) | Indiana University–Bloomington | IN | 73 | – |
| #75 (tied) | Clemson University | SC | 80 | +5 |
| #75 (tied) | Rutgers University–Newark | NJ | 80 | +5 |
| #75 (tied) | Syracuse University | NY | 73 | -2 |
| #75 (tied) | University at Buffalo–SUNY | NY | 76 | +1 |
| #75 (tied) | University of California, Riverside | CA | 76 | +1 |
| #80 (tied) | Colorado School of Mines | CO | 76 | -4 |
| #80 (tied) | Drexel University | PA | 86 | +6 |
| #80 (tied) | New Jersey Institute of Technology | NJ | 84 | +4 |
| #80 (tied) | Stevens Institute of Technology | NJ | 76 | -4 |
| #84 (tied) | Pepperdine University | CA | 80 | -4 |
| #84 (tied) | University of Illinois Chicago | IL | 80 | -4 |
| #84 (tied) | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | MA | 86 | +2 |
| #84 (tied) | Yeshiva University | NY | 98 | +14 |
| #88 (tied) | American University | DC | 91 | +3 |
| #88 (tied) | Baylor University | TX | 91 | +3 |
| #88 (tied) | Howard University | DC | 86 | -2 |
| #88 (tied) | Marquette University | WI | 86 | -2 |
| #88 (tied) | Rochester Institute of Technology | NY | 91 | +3 |
| #88 (tied) | Southern Methodist University | TX | 91 | +3 |
| #88 (tied) | University of California, Santa Cruz | CA | 84 | -4 |
| #88 (tied) | University of Delaware | DE | 86 | -2 |
| #88 (tied) | University of South Florida | FL | 91 | +3 |
| #97 (tied) | Florida International University | FL | 98 | +1 |
| #97 (tied) | Fordham University | NY | 91 | -6 |
| #97 (tied) | Rutgers University–Camden | NJ | 98 | +1 |
| #97 (tied) | Texas Christian University | TX | 105 | +8 |
| #97 (tied) | University of Colorado Boulder | CO | 98 | +1 |
| #102 (tied) | Auburn University | AL | 105 | +3 |
| #102 (tied) | Gonzaga University | WA | 98 | -4 |
| #102 (tied) | Loyola Marymount University | CA | 91 | -11 |
| #102 (tied) | Saint Louis University | MO | 105 | +3 |
| #102 (tied) | Temple University | PA | 98 | -4 |
| #102 (tied) | University of Iowa | IA | 98 | -4 |
| #102 (tied) | University of Missouri | MO | 109 | +7 |
| #102 (tied) | University of Tennessee–Knoxville | TN | 109 | +7 |
Next page: The top 129 U.S. business schools as ranked by U.S. News this year, including the top 5 in each of 13 specialization rankings.